Truth Behind A Complete Unknown’s Over the Top Edward Norton-Axe Scene Proves James Mangold Is a Genius to Include It

SUMMARY

• A Complete Unknown, starring Timothée Chalamet and Edward Norton hit the theatres on December 25.
• One scene which has generated a lot of interests from fans is the scene where Peter Seeger looks for an ax to cut the cables.
• In an interview, Norton reveals what really happened.

This Christmas couldn’t get any merrier for fans, as James Mangold’s A Complete Unknown finally hits the theatres. Ever since the movie’s trailer dropped, fans have been waiting for the fateful day.

That was to be expected. After all, it’s Bob Dylan’s biopic. Directed by James Mangold. And the cherry on the top is the fact that Timothee Chalamet will be essaying A Hard Rain’s A‐Gonna Fall singer’s role. No wonder fans were waiting in anticipation for this one.

When Bob Dylan left Newport shocked

James Mangold does a respectable job with A Complete Unknown || Searchlight Pictures

As James Mangold takes us on a tour of the early 1960s, chronicling the first four years of Bob Dylan‘s rise to fame, he held dearly to the license to make things his own way. When the subject of your inquiry is so enigmatic, one would forgive him for doing that.

While the 83-year-old’s die-hard fans would probably know many details about the singer by heart, there are some details that have proved more elusive for many to pin down.

One such incident revolves around the highly controversial Newport Folk Festival. Dylan fans remember the day as the day the Blowin’ in The Wind star shocked the world with his ‘electric’ performance, an element that caught all of them off guard.

Edward Norton and Timothée Chalamet share a close relationship in A Complete Unknown || Searchlight Pictures

Fans weren’t the only ones who couldn’t wrap their head around the electric performance, Peter Seeger was left fuming as well. Upon Bob Dylan’s arrival in New York, Seeger would grow to be one of his closest aides. Not to mention, the singer was a Dylan fan. No wonder he couldn’t tolerate why his friend resorted to blasphemy.

When Pete Seeger almost cut the cables in A Complete Unknown (or did he)?

Edward Norton comes clean about what really happened that day || Image by Bridget Laudien, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

There was an urban legend that Peter Seeger was so angry at the time that he almost decided to do something over the top. In A Complete Unknown, Norton’s Seeger lost it when he heard Dylan turn to electric sets at Newport.

In the Timothée Chalamet starrer, Seeger began to look for an axe to get rid of the sound cables. The sight makes up for quite the spectacle. But stepping beyond cinema, is that really true?

While Edward Norton himself had no clear idea about the veracity of the incident, he didn’t deny that chances were that he did. He said,

There was a lot of urban myth that grew up around that moment. I spoke with Peter Yarrow (of Peter, Paul & Mary), who was there, and Pete’s oldest daughter, who was 17 and standing there. He didn’t grab an ax and try and cut the cord, and there were people who thought he said, ‘If I had an ax, I’d cut the cable.’ His daughter said she’d never seen him that angry in his life, and her mother Toshi did step in, as the movie shows. (AOL)

Not many would fault James Mangold for taking a little creative license with the scene. After all, that was a big moment for everyone there.

A Complete Unknown is currently in theatres.

Written by Smriti Sneh

Articles Published: 362

Smriti Sneh is a Content Writer at Fandom Wire specializing in celebrities and everything pop-culture. Being a literature research scholar, she is cashing in on her writing skills by working in the entertainment news sector - studying literary theories by day, and navigating celebrity net worth through the night. Although you can find her writing poems at any and all hours.